Tequila in 10: Well it’s about time …

byKeithPonJanuary 26, 2012

… that after six days of exploring tequila-based drinks that we finally take one on that includes citrus. So be it, we are throwing our hands in the air and giving in, yielding our barspoon to a mixing tin.

By design, Tequila in 10 was largely going to be a boozy stirred affair with but one offering containing citrus juice. Given this we felt compelled to scour our recipe notes and prior thoughts for a tequila-based recipe that would do wonders to both key ingredients. Pressure mounting, many a sleepless night later, we awoke in a fit with the simplest of conclusions – salvation is right in front of you. So it was, when writing up one of my posts for Old Fashioned’s in October that I caught sight of a recipe name scribbled on the corner of my recipe notebook; memories came flooding back instantly and I realized I had the one recipe at reach all along … the Greta Garbo.

What is so good about this seemingly simple (on paper) drink as to warrant inclusion into our little experiment? Simple really, this quasi play on a Blood and Sand, created by Eryn Reece of Mayahuel in NYC, is a downright tasty drink that is a perfect balance of ingredients. Typical tequila-based sour ingredients are shaken up with two unexpected newbies creating a fantastic drinking experience. The drink is equal parts sweat, sour and bitter at the same time. Cherry is a nice compliment to the tequila with the smokiness of the mezcal cutting through nicely. The citrus while fully present isn’t the key flavor in this drink but rather something you taste coming on in the after palate; a supporting flavor not the lead character.

Well done Eryn, this is my go-to summer sipper when heat calls for something shaken with citrus.

Cherry works really well with both tequila and mezcal. While a sour, the “greta garbo” is one of the least citrus forward I’ve found … sure it is there but it seems to blend in with everything else. a very well balanced drink.

Welcome to my adventure into the blissfulness that is imbibing. I’m a novice to be sure, but I am ready, willing and able to learn more about this medium. Come along, let’s enjoy the adventure together.